List of English words of Spanish origin
This is a list of English language words whose origin can be traced to the Spanish language as "Spanish loan words". Many of them are identical in other Romance languages (mainly Portuguese), but their ultimate origin is from Spanish. A ;abaca : via Spanish from Tagalog abaká ;abalone : from Spanish abulón, from Ohlone aulon ;adobe : from Spanish, from Arabic al-tob, from Coptic tube, "brick" ;adobo : from Spanish adobo, "marinade" ;adiós : from adiós, "goodbye", from "a Dios vos encomiendo" = "I commend you to God", akin to French adieu, Portuguese adeus, Italian addio ;achiote : from Spanish, from Nahuatl achiotl ;aficionado : from Spanish, aficionado, "enthusiast" ;agouti : via French or from Spanish agutí, from Tupi akuti ;Alameda : from alameda meaning lined with or covered by álamo trees ;Alamo : from álamo an elm or poplar tree, from Latin alnus "alder" ;albino : from Spanish or Portuguese, from Latin albus, "white" ;albondigas : Spanish, from Arabic al-bunduq, "hazel nut" ;alcalde : Spanish, from Arabic al-kadi, "the judge" ;alcazar : Spanish, from Arabaic al-kasr "fortress", this from Latin castra (same meaning) ;alcove ;alfalfa : from Spanish, from Arabic '' al-fisfisa'', fresh fodder ;alidade : via French and Spanish from Arabic al-idada, "the revolving radius" ;alligator : from el lagarto, "the lizard" ;alpaca : from Spanish, from Aymara allpaka ;aludel : from Old French alutel, via Spanish from Arabic al-utal, "the sublimation vessel" ;amarillo: is the English word "yellow " ;amigo : from Spanish and/or Portuguese amigo, "friend" ;amole : Mexican Spanish ;amontillado : from the village of Montilla, Province of Córdoba, Spain ;ancho : from Mexican Spanish (chile) ancho, "wide (chili)" ;anchovy : from Spanish anchoa or more probably Portuguese anchova ;Angeleno : from American Spanish ;Apache : from Mexican Spanish ;armada : from the Spanish navy, La armada española ;armadillo : from armadillo, "little armed one" ;arroyo : from arroyo, "stream" ;avocado : alteration of Spanish aguacate, from Nahuatl ahuacatl ;ayahuasca ;Aztec ;Azul: is in English the colr "blue" B ;banana : from Spanish or Portuguese banana, probably from a Wolof word - Arabic "ba' nana" fingers ;bandolier : from Spanish bandolera, ="band (for a weapon or other) that crosses from one shoulder to the opposite hip" and bandolero, ="he who wears a bandolier" ;barbecue : from the Chibcha word barbacoa ;barracuda : from barracuda ;barranca : from Spanish barranca or barranco, ="ravine" ;barriada : from Spanish barrio, "neighborhood", from Arabic barri ;barrio : from Spanish barrio, "neighborhood", from Arabic barri ;bastinado : from bastonada, from Spanish bastón, cane ;blanco: means the color "white" ;bodega : from Spanish and/or Portuguese bodega, ="cellar" ;bolas : from Spanish bolas, =''balls'' ;bolero : from Spanish bolero ;bonanza : from bonanza ;bonito : from Spanish bonito, ="beautiful" ;booby : from Spanish bobo ="silly" ;breeze : from brisa or from Frisian briesen - to blow (wind) ;bronco or broncho : from bronco ;buckaroo : from vaquero, ="cowboy" ;burrito : from burrito, = a dish originally from Northern Mexico, literally "little donkey" ;burro : from burro, ="donkey" C ;caballero : from Spanish caballero, from caballo, ="horse" ;cabana : from Spanish cabaña or Portuguese cabana ;cacique : from Spanish, from Taino, a chief ;cafeteria : from cafetería, "coffee store" ;calaboose : from Louisiana French calabouse, from Spanish calabozo ;caldera (used in geology) : from Spanish caldera, "=cauldron" ;California : place name first seen in print in 1510 Spanish novel "Las Sergas de Esplandían" by García Ordóñez de Montalvo ;camarilla : from camarilla ="small room" ;camino : from camino a path or road, from caminar to walk ;cannibal : from Spanish caníbal, alteration of caríbal, from Caribe ;canoe : from Spanish canoa, from Haitian canaoua ;canyon : from cañón ;carabao: from Spanish from Visayan language, from Malay language. ;caramba: from Spanish ; expression of dread, displeasure, or disapproval, euphemism for carajo ="penis" ;carbonado : from carbonada, from carbón ="coal" ;cargo : from cargo, carga ="load" ;Caribbean : from Spanish Caribe, from name of Carib Indians of the region. ;cassava : from cazabe, from Taino caçábi ;caudillo : from caudillo ;cedilla : from cedilla, archaic spelling zedilla (little z) ;chaparral : from Spanish, chaparro = small evergreen oak, from Basque "txapar" ;chaps : from Mexican Spanish chaparreras, leg protectors for riding through chaparral ;chayote : from Spanish, from Nahuatl chayotl ;chicha : from Spanish chicha, from Panama native American language chichab, ="maize" ;chicle : from chicle, from Nahuatl tzictli ;chile : from Spanish chile, from Nahuatl chilli ;chipotle : from Spanish, smoked jalapeño, from Nahuatl chilpoctli ;chocolate : from Spanish chocolate, from Nahuatl xocolatl ;churros : from churros ;cigar : from Spanish cigarro, from Mayan sicar, sic (="tobacco") ;cigarette : from French cigarette, diminutive of French cigare, from Spanish cigarro ;cilantro : from Spanish cilantro', "coriander" ;coca : from Spanish, ''coca, from Quechua kúka ;cockroach : from Spanish cucaracha ;cocoa or cacao : from Spanish cacao, from Nahuatl cacáhuatl ;Colorado: from Spanish colorado, red or colored ;comrade : from French camarade, from Spanish camarada ;condor : from Spanish, from Quechua cuntur ;conquistador : from conquistador, from conquista="conquest" ;coquina : from coquina, dim. form of "concha" = seashell; a sedimentary rock of NE Florida ;cordillera : from cordillera ;corral : from corral ;corrida: a bullfight ;coyote : from Spanish coyote, from Nahuatl coyotl ;creole : from French créole, from Spanish criollo, from Portuguese crioulo, raised in the house ;crimson : from Old Spanish cremesín, from Arabic qirmizI, from qirmiz kermes ;crusade : blend of Middle French croisade & Spanish cruzada; both ultimately from Latin cruc-'', ''crux cross ;cumbia : from Spanish cumbia, a popular dance (for couples) originating in Colombia, Panama and Argentina D ;daiquiri : from Daiquiri, a port city in eastern Cuba ;dengue : from Spanish dengue, from Swahili dinga, = "seizure" ;desperado : from Spanish desesperado, desperate E ;El Dorado : from El Dorado, literally, "the golden one" ;El Niño : from El Niño de la Navidad, literally, "the Christmas child" due to the warming of Pacific waters seemed to warm around Christmas ;Embarcadero : from embarcadero a boat dock ;embargo : from Spanish embargar ="to bar" F ;fiador : from Colonial Spanish fiador H ;Hacienda : from Old Spanish facienda ;hackamore : from Spanish jaquima ;hoosegow: from Spanish juzgado, courthouse, from juzgar, to judge I ;Inca : from Spanish inca, from Quechua ;incommunicado : from incomunicado ;iguana : from Spanish iguana from Arawak J ;jaguar : from Spanish jaguar from Guaraní yaguar ;jalapeño: from Spanish, a type of spicy chilli named after Jalapa de Enríquez, a town in Mexico, and the capital of the state of Veracruz ;jerky : from Spanish charqui, from Quechua ch'arki, ="dried flesh" ;junta or junto: from Spanish junta, a group of leaders, usually military officers in a coup d'état. As an adjective it means "together". K ;key : from Spanish cayo, from Taino (this is English 'key'/'cay'/'quay' as in an island, reef or a linked series of them, not the 'key' with which you lock/unlock) L ;lariat : from la reata, = the strap, rein, or rope ;lasso : from Spanish lazo ;loco : from loco, =''mad, crazy'' ;Lolita : from the diminutive for Lola, short for Dolores M ;malpais : from Spanish mal país ;mesa : from mesa, table. The corresponding Spanish word to a flat top mountain is meseta ;mescal : from Spanish mezcal, from Nahuatl mexcalli ;mesquite : from Mexican Spanish mezquite, from Nahuatl mizquitl ;mestizo : from mestizo ;mojito : dim. formed from "mojado" = dipped, or wet, probably referring to the mint in the drink ;mole : from Spanish, from Nahuatl molli (="sauce") ;Montana: from montaña, a mountain ;mosquito : from mosquito, literally "little fly" ;mulatto : from Spanish or Portuguese mulato ;mustang :from mestengo or mesteño, ="without known master or owner" (archaic) ;mustee : from mestizo N ;nacho : from Nacho, a nickname for the given name Ignacio, inventor of the snack ;negro : from Spanish or Portuguese negro, ="black" ;Nevada: from Nevada literally "snowy" O ;olé : an interjection, an expression of approval or triumph, similar to the Italian bravo, used by spectators of bull fights or football (soccer) matches ;oregano : from orégano P ;pachuco : from pachuco ;paella : from Spanish paella, from Catalan paella (saucepan) ;palmetto : from palmito ;pampa : from Spanish, from Quechua pampa, =''plain'' ;papaya : from japaya, akin to Arawak papáia ;patio : from patio, inner courtyard, ="an open paved area adjacent to a home" ;peccadillo :from pecadillo, ="small sin" ;peccary : from Spanish pecarí, from Guaraní ;peon : from Spanish peón (="laborer") ;peyote : from Spanish, from Nahuatl peyotl (="caterpillar") ;Philippines : from Latin ="islands of king Philip II of Spain", in Spanish Filipinas ;piccadill : from picadillo ;pimento or pimiento : from pimiento ;pinta : from pinta ;piña colada : from Spanish piña = pineapple and colada = enamored with, crazy about ;pisco : from pisco ;placer mining : from placer, ="sand bank" ;platinum : from platina, ="little silver" (now "Platino") ;playa : from playa ;plaza : from plaza',' ="public square, spot or place" ;poncho : from ''poncho, from Araucanian ;posada : from posada ;potato : from European Spanish patata, itself from batata, = "sweet potato", from Taino and papa, "potato" from Quechua ;potrero : from Colonial Spanish potrero ;pronunciamento : from pronunciamiento proclamation, ="military coup d'état", usually establishing a military dictatorship (often a junta) ;puma : from Spanish, from Quechua ;puna : from puna, from Quechua Q ;quadroon : from cuarterón ;quechua : from Spanish, from Quechua qishwa, valley of temperate weather ;Quemada : from Spanish quemada ;Quemazon : from Spanish quemazón ;quesadilla : from quesadilla, diminutive of "queso" = cheese ;quinoa : from Spanish quinua, from Quechua kinua ;quirt : from Spanish cuarta = a short horseman's whip, from "one fourth" (of a vara) R ;ranch : from rancho, a hut ;reconquista : from reconquista ="reconquest" ;remuda : from Mexican Spanish remudar, to exchange (horses) ;renegade : from renegado ;rincon : from Spanish rincón ;robalo : from Spanish róbalo, a tropical marine game and fish food ;roble : from Spanish roble= a California oak tree ;rodeo : from rodeo and verb rodear (to go around) ;rumba : from rumba S ;saguaro : from saguaro, from Piman ;salsa : from salsa, ="sauce" ;sapodilla : from zapotillo ;sarabande : from French sarabande in turn from Spanish zarabanda ;savanna : from sabana, from Taino zabana ;savvy : from Spanish or Portuguese sabe, "knows" ;shack : perhaps from Mexican Spanish jacal, from Nahuatl xacalli ;sherry : from Old Spanish Xerés ʃe'ɾes, modern Spanish Jerez xe'ɾeθ ;sierra : from sierra, a saw ;siesta : from siesta, ="nap", maybe lusism, from Latin Sexta hora ;silo : from silo ;sombrero : from sombrero (literally, shade maker), ="hat" ;stampede : from estampida ;stockade : from a French derivation of the Spanish estacada T ;taco : from taco ;tamale : from Spanish tamales, pl. of tamal, from Nahuatl tamalli, dumpling made from corn flour ;tango : from Spanish tango, from Latin tango ="I touch" ;tapioca : from tapioca ;ten-gallon hat: from Spanish tan galán = how gallant (looking); alternate theory is the gallon of Texas English here is a misunderstanding of galón = braid ;tequila : from tequila ;tilde : from tilde ;tiri : from tiro ;tobacco: from Spanish tabaco ;tomatillo : from Spanish tomatillo, ="small tomate" (see Physalis philadelphica) ;tomato : from Spanish tomate, from Nahuatl xitomatl ;toreador : from toreador ;torero : from torero, from toro ="bull" ;tornado : from Spanish tornado ;tortilla : from tortilla, "little torta" = cake. Currently means "omelet" in Spain; in Spanish America = small cake of either corn meal or wheat flour ;tuna : from Spanish atún, from Arabic tun, from Latin thunnus, from Greek θύννος, thynnos (=tuna fish) ;turista : from turista ="tourist" V ;vamoose : from vamos, meaning "let's go" ;vanilla : from Spanish vainilla, from vaina,="pod" ;vicuña : from Spanish, from Quechua wikunna W ;wrangler : shortened from Spanish caballerango, a groom (for horses) Y ;yam : from ñame--possibly from Portuguese inhame ;yerba mate : from Spanish, ="mate grass" Z ;Zorro : from Portuguese/Spanish zorro, a fox, originally "smart" See also *List of Spanish words of Indigenous American Indian origin External links *[http://cvc.cervantes.es/obref/aih/pdf/04/aih_04_2_027.pdf Montague, Artur, El elemento español en el vocabulario inglés: prolegómenos a una lista. AIH. Actas IV (1971). (in Spanish)] *Online Etymology Dictionary *Real Academia Española Spanish dictionary English Spanish * Category:Spanish loanwords Categoría:Inglés-Español